The key to Rondo
by HoshinaMimi
Summary: Turn the key three times only. Never turn the key while the music is playing. Never pick up the box while the music is playing. Never close the lid until the music has stopped. When the rules are broken, Ikuto's life will change forever as they plunge together into the fantastic world of Rondo
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1~ Family Treasure**

The day that Tsukiyomi Ikuto his life changed forever, Ikuto didn't know this at the time. His heart didn't miss a beat as he took the box from his mother and put it on his desk. He was irritated, Who wouldn't be irritated to have a dull, ugly music box in their room? His father said that the box should be in a museum. but his Aunt Bethany left it to Ikuto in her will so here it is, making everything else in his room look plain and sort of- childish.

The music box had been in Ikuto's family ever since a long ago ancestor called Rollo had brought it home from one of his world trips.

"Rollo was a great traveller," Aunt Bethany always said, opening her blue eyes wide as if being a great traveller was as remarkable as being a fire-eater i a circus.

The box was about as big as a shoebox and had four short legs. Its lid was smooth, shining black, quite plain except for a narrow, oval-shaped ring of real silver in the centre. Its sides, however, were painted with amazingly detailed scenes, and this was what made it old fashioned .

The long side at the front was a town filled with houses, shops and people. The long side at the back was green and peaceful, with a castle on a hill, a queen in a long blue gown, a dragon flying high in the sky and a river winding down from the misty mountains. One of the short sides was a coast sea and golden sand. the other was mainly forest, where tall trees rose from a sea of lacy ferns and shadows seemed to flicker with the stripes of tigers.

Ikuto lifted the box and turned the winder in its base three times, counting under his breath. As the music began, he heard his mother moving around in the spare room next door, and signed. He wanted to forget that Hinamori Amu, his family friend's daughter is coming to stay.

his mother wasn't looking forward to Amu's visit either. She hadn't said so, but he could tell. And Ikuto's father had, as usual, made his feelings very clear.

"Why can't Midori and Tsumugu take the girl to Greece with them?" he demanded, when the news of Amu's visit had been broken to him.

"She won't go," Ikuto's mother had said calmly," She doesn't want to miss her singing lessons. And-"

Ikuto's father gave an explosive snort. "The surely there's someone else who can take her?" he demanded.

"No Kazuomi, there isn't," said Ikuto's mum. "Midori's brothers can't possibly take her because they are too busy working. The twins are still in India. Suzanne and Martin can't take Mutt because of Martin's allergy-"

"Mutt?' roared Kazuomi, "Who's-?"

"Amu's dog," said Ikuto's mum, lifting her chin."Amu won't go anywhere without him."

Kazuomi stared, speechless. Then he turned to look at Tiff, the dignified black cat dozing in a puddle of sunlight under the window.

"Oh, Mutt won't bother Tiff," Ikuto's mother said confidently. "Mutt's a tiny little thing. And he'll sleep upstairs with Amu."

Kazuomi had groaned, Ikuto had gloomily faced the fact that the matter was settled.

Kazuomi Tsukiyomi was the manager of the Tsukiyomi company. He was a big, untidy, impatient man, who had no living relatives except his wife and son. He liked his home to be comfortable refuge, and he loathed any kind of intrusion. But he loved his wife very much, and he knew that, for her, blood was thicker than water. She is sure to be a Tsukiyomi.

And if mum hadn't been so determind. Ikuto thought later, wondering at the mysteries of fate, if mum had caved in and told dad, okay, if it upsets you so much we won't have Amu after all...

_Then Aunt Bethany's music box would have kept its secret for another eighty years._

Ikuto remembered they day where Aunt Bethany gave his mother the music box.

"No, we wind the box three times, no more,"she always said, speaking especially to him."We never turn the key while the music is playing. We never pick up the box while the music is playing and we never close the lid until the music has stopped."

Then she lifted the box, turn the key three times, put the box down again, and opened the lid. The chiming music would begin-soft, sweet and strange. When Ikuto was little, it always looked to him as if the tiger shadows were moving, and the painted people were dancing to the tune.

Ikuto had seen Amu a couple of times at school. Though they're in the same school, they hardly spoke to one another. Amu sang very well, Ikuto's mother said. It had been discovered that she had an extraordinary musical talent. As if that makes it okay to act like she's better than everyone else, Ikuto thought sourly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2~ Amu comes to stay**

Hinamori Amu arrived just after lunch on Sunday with her little mustard-coloured dog cluched in her arms and her mother hurrying behind her with two bags and a pillow. Ikuto's father was't home. He was on his way to speak at an interstate conference. Usually he complained about having to go, especially when he had to give a speech, but Ikuto suspected he wasn't so unhappy about it this time. Home wouldn't be nearly as comfortable with Amu and Mutt around.

Tiff appeared in the hall to greet the guests, his tail very upright. Mutt, who looked like a fluffy toy with teeth, burst into an explosive of ear-splitting yaps. Tiff arched his back and hissed. Every hair on his body stood up, so that he looked twice his normal size.

Amu screamed and shrank back against the wall, holding Mutt high as if Tiff was a revening panther. Struggling to free himself and fly into attack, Mutt began to make high, hysterical gargling sounds that were apparetly supposed to be growls. Amu closed her eyes and tried to hold Mutt still.

When Amu opened her honey golden eyes, they met with Ikuto's dark blue eyes. Amu gasped as Ikuto leaned closer, everything seems to be more quite, Mutt gave up struggling and Tiff walked away.

"Don-don't," Amu blushed and tried to push Ikuto away

"Don't overreact to everything, you're giving me a headache," Ikuto frowned, irritated and walked away.

"Hey-" Screamed Amu.

Suddenly Mutt and Tiff's yaps doubled in volume.

"Amu!" Midori shrieked, scarlet with embarrassment."This is ridiculous! He's your dog, make him stop!"

"He'll stop if you take that cat away," Amu said flatly, and pressed her lips into a hard straight line.

Annoyed, Ikuto turned on his heels and walked towards the kitchen and picked up tiff. Mutt went on yapping till Tiff was out of sight. Midori apologised some more.

It wasn't the best start to a visit that was going to last a whole month.

After she'd wearily given Ikuto's mother a long list of things that Amu wouldn't eat and things she wouldn't do while Amu stared silently at the huge, shabby sneakers that encased her feet then Midori went home to finish packing.

just before she left, she became tearful and hugged Amu tightly, murmuring things about ringing often and being back soon. Amu, her face expressionless, said nothing except okay and yes mum.

As soon as the car had driven away, she turned and went upstairs to her bedroom with mutt still cluched in her hands. She climbed the stairs, her head high and her back straight. Her legs look perfectly thin and in shape but more pale than anyone else, her body is very skinny and her waist seems like the size of a peanut.

Ikuto didn't usually notice people's bodies much, but he couldn't help thinking how skinny Amu is. Amu reached the top of the stairs and started along the short corridor that led to the bathroom and her and Ikuto's rooms. Quickly Ikuto walked into his room. He found himself staring at the music box again.

It was beautifully made. Ikuto ran his fingers over the smoothness of its shining black lid. Then turned his attention to the painted parts of the box.

The little figures on the front of the box facinated him. The more he looked, the more of them he could see. It was like looking at the sky. You saw the biggest, brightest ones first, then gradually, you become aware of the thousands, the millions, of smaller, dimmer stars that studded the blackness beyond them.

The front of the music box was like that, there were larger figures in the foreground, men, women and children walking down the cobbled Main Street, going in and out of shops and stopping at stalls. Beyond them there were others- hundreds of others, many so tiny that Ikuto could hardly see.

the artist must have used a magnifying glass to paint them, he thought, squinting at the box. Then he remembered that he had a magnifying glass.

Now he could see all sorts of details that he hadn't been able to see before. He could see the expressions on some of the distant people's faces, he could make out the goods on display in the shops, he could see cats sitting on windowsills, vegetables growing in the kitchen gardens...

And there was more- so much more.

Ikuto shook his head in amazement, moving the magnifying glass slowly across the surface of the box. He couldn't imagine how long it much have taken to paint a scene as detailed as this. Months- maybe years- using a brush so fine that it could paint in the green eyes of a car as small as a freckle. Maybe it had been even painted in layers- one layer on top of another, and another...

Everywhere he looked, there was something new to see. He was certain that Aunt Bethany had never looked at the box this closely.

Here was a wedding party in the garden of what looked like a palace- guests were gathered around a long table and holding up glasses to toast the bride and groom, who were both wearing good crowns. There a house was on fire, and firefighters were spraying the flames with hoses while other people ran to help with buckets of water.

Ikuto turned the box and scanned the forest side. In fact, the forest only covered the bottom half of the scene. Above it was a brown road, thin as string, running from the front of the box to the back, where it ended at a little bridge. On the other side of the road was a winding river.

Now he was really bored out of his mind while putting the box down and opened the lid. The familiar music began, sweet and strange.

he walked towards his bed and Laid comfortably on it. Normally he wouldn't like the music but today he did. Gradually, the music slowed, and finally stopped. He just picked up the box up to wind it again when he heard a small sound behind him and turned quickly around.

Amu was standing just outside the door


End file.
